Surgical treatment of high-grade acute intramuscular hamstring tendon injuries in athletes leads to predictable return to sports and no re-injuries

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the post-operative return to sport and re-injury rates following surgical repair of acute, first-time, high-grade intramuscular hamstring tendon injuries in high level athletes. Methods Patients were identified using the databases of two sports surgeon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2023-10, Vol.31 (10), p.4601-4606
Main Authors: Aujla, Randeep S., Cecchi, Steven, Koh, Eamon, D’Alessandro, Peter, Annear, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Athletes
Australian football
Classification
Complications
Hamstring
Injuries
Injury intramuscular tendon
Medical imaging
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Orthopedics
Patients
Professional soccer
Quality
Return to play
Sports
Sports Medicine
Sports related injuries
Surgery
Surgical outcomes
Tendons
Tightness
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Summary:Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the post-operative return to sport and re-injury rates following surgical repair of acute, first-time, high-grade intramuscular hamstring tendon injuries in high level athletes. Methods Patients were identified using the databases of two sports surgeons. Once patients were identified their clinical notes and imaging were reviewed to confirm that all patients had injuries to the intramuscular portion of the distal aspect of the proximal biceps femoris tendon. All imaging was reviewed by an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist to confirm diagnosis. Surgery for such injuries was indicated in high-level athletes presenting with acute hamstring injuries. All patients were operated on within 4 weeks. Outcomes included Tegner scores, return to sport, Lower Extremity Functional Score (LEFS), current hamstring symptoms and complications including re-injury. Results Eleven injuries (10 patients) were included in the study. All patients were male and Australian Rules Football players. Six patients were professional athletes and 4 semi-professional athletes. Median age was 24.5 (range 21–29) and median follow-up period was 33.7 months (range; 16–65). 91% were British Athletic Muscle Injury Classification (BAMIC) 3c and 9% were BAMIC 4c. 91% were classed as MR2 and 9% as MR3 on the simplified four-grade injury classification. Athletes achieved return to play (RTP) at an average of 3.1 months (SD 1.0) post repair. All but one patient achieved a Tegner score equal to pre-injury levels. Maximum LEFS was achieved by all patients. Minor pain scores (all with VAS 
ISSN:0942-2056
1433-7347
DOI:10.1007/s00167-023-07477-x